It's Not Supposed to be Easy.

It's a crazy time in my life. I'm learning how to deal with two kids (I'm told the jump to two is harder than the jump to one and I believe it), keep my marriage strong and work through all of the stuff (good and bad) at church.

On top of that you may have noticed (if any of you still read this) that it's been almost two months since my last post.

I'm not going to lie to you... the things that have been the hardest to deal with all come from what's happening at church.

Before you get mad hold on, because that's exactly what I have had to do. It is really, really easy for me to get mad and just throw up my hands and write people off.

It's easy to just dismiss negative and hurtful comments without looking at why they have been said. It's easy to hold up the positive comments and declare "we're doing a great job!"

What's not so easy is realizing that it's not supposed to be easy.

Like Karl talked about forgiveness last week, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes Christian life is hard. And I think it's what God has been trying to say to me through all of this.

Michael Lukaszewski, pastor of Oak Leaf Church in Georgia said this on twitter tonight...

"Christians need to stop acting like God just wants their lives to be easier."

That's hard to hear because in my heart I know it's true. A life that follows Jesus isn't going to be easy. I have to spend every waking moment fighting against my flesh and strive to listen to the Spirit. I have to hear the hard things from my Christian brothers and sisters, even if I don't like it or think it's true. I have to accept that I might not be right in every situation. I have to understand that while my feelings are real they might not be based on truth.

And so do you.

We all do.

Every day.

But don't take my word for it. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

The old life dies. Death is not a comfortable thing. We deal with pain when people in our lives die. It's stupid of us to think there won't be some pain when our old life dies.

There is this also... Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

For one piece of iron to sharpen another they have to be rubbed across each other. Each scraping off pieces of the other as they develop an edge. That is not comfortable.

I cannot help someone walk closer to Jesus without getting my edges scraped too. It's stupid to think I can make you more like Jesus without being uncomfortable.

All this is to say that it's not going to be easy, and we are fooling ourselves if we think that it will be or that it's only someone else's problem and I'm good the way I am.

I need you push me, and you need me to push you.

At times it will hurt, and we will need to forgive each other.

We may not even like each other from time to time.

But we cannot give up on each other because it's hard.

I'm choosing not to give up on you, please don't give up on me.

Anticipation!

So I am up at the annual Pastors Retreat that our region hosts. It's always a good time.

I like being able to reconnect with some of my pastor friends from around the northwest.

So look forward to notes from the speakers and other good stuff over the next few days!

Will you be there?

Sunday night is going to be really important. You should want to come...

To what you ask?

I'm glad you asked...

VISION NIGHT 2009

6 p.m. in the Worship Center

We will go over the great things God has done in the last year as well as what he wants to do in the coming one.

It's going to be good.

Be there!

Just do it!

4th of July Parade

Wow. Parade done. It's always a physically draining morning for me. We meet at the church at 6 a.m. to start setting up, hang out until the parade starts, play like crazy for 45 min, break a little, play 15 more minutes and then back to the church to tear down and in this case set back up for weekend services tomorrow!

I get tired after all of that. But you who aren't on the truck have the bigger job.

My job is highly visible, lots of people see me. But at this event you guys, who are in the park and on the street, make the biggest impact.

I can't talk to people. I don't get the chance to shake a hand, give a popsicle, or share a hot dog.

But you do. You're the front lines of the ministry.

And I want to thank you for it!

Thanks!

I also want to hear your stories. I get a few pieces here and there, but I know that there are a bunch more out there. So share! Post here in the comments, send me an email (aaron@fbcpoky.com) catch me on twitter (@floyaaro) grab me in the hall. Whatever.

But make sure you share your stories somehow.

I look forward to hearing them and seeing you tomorrow!

Pivotal Days

Every conference I've ever been to has what I like to call a "pivotal day."

It's a day when everything changes.

It's a day when people finally let go of their hang ups and worries and dive into what God has fro them at the event.

It's a day when all of the work that has been poured into them starts to bear fruit.

Here in Los Angeles, with your kids, I believe TODAY is that DAY!

We've had a day and a half of great classes and worship experiences. We've had a great week of bonding and laughing and disagreeing and just being together in a group. The ground work has been put down. And I believe that today will be the day when the work that God has been doing will begin to blossom.

What can you do?

Pray...

Seriously...

We need you to be praying for your kids.

Because as part of our church family even if their not YOUR kids their your kids.

God is doing some amazing things. We are seeing leaders being raised up, relationships healed, lives opening, maturity happening, and a bunch more.

Prayer is the key to unlocking it's full potential. We are going to be rolling back with a bunch of students who are going to be ready to live as integrated followers of Christ. We need to lift them up in prayer.

We've already had major attacks in getting here and I don't believe that they will stop when we get back. In fact, I would imagine that they will get stronger.

So pray for your kids, pray for kids that aren't yours, pray for the leaders and pray for Chris.

Something big is about to happen and I think it's happening today!

Welcome to California

We made it. Long bus ride and cranky people aside we are now in Southern California.

I don't want you to be jealous but we are a bout to roll to In-n-Out for lunch.

Today is a day of refreshing after a fourteen hour bus ride. A chance to rest and play as we get ready for the incredible things that God is going to do in our lives.

I've already read two book and written some new song lyrics, so look out.

If you think about it pray for our teens as they walk into this conference on Thursday. I feel like this is the start of something big in the life of our church, and it's important that we be praying about it so we don't walk into it blindly.

I will keep you updated as we go, and hopefully we'll get some live blogging during the conference.

Check back often...

Prayer Night Recap Part 2

Yesterday I gave you a list of some of the things we can be thankful for. Today I wanted to give you the list of things that we prayed for on Sunday night and that we need to continue to pray for.

• DCLA trip
• Project House
• 4th of July Parade
• Church Finances
• New Ministry Year
• Small Groups @ FBC
• New Families/People who are attending
• Habitat for Humanity
• Adoptions
• Vern and Carol Fraire
• Summer Weddings
• Parents Health
• Family Relationships
• Employment Needs

Our God is bigger than any of these things. We need to make sure that we remember that. It can be easy to let our problems become so big that don't give God the room to work that He wants. So join me in praying for each of these things and lets give God the opportunity blow our minds!

Prayer Night Recap

Ok so I know it's been a few days since the prayer night but I wanted to give you guys a recap in case you weren't there. Here goes....

We started by looking at Philippians 4:4-7

Next we took some time to thank God for the things that he has been doing!

Here's the list...

• 11 baptisms
• 2 new student workers
• Jobs
• Kids being discipled
• Provision for DCLA
• Marriages restored
• New babies
• I Saw the Lord
• Women's Bible study
• Personal witness
• Student Ministries
• Restored health
• Financial protection in our valley
• Rain
• Portneuf Gap Project
• Church Leadership
• Spiritual growth
• Prayers answered
• Stepping into service
• Madatchurch.com
• Regional growth
• Project house
• DCLA

Wow! God has been doing a lot of different things. You should take a second and give up some thanks for each of these things and anything else that isn't on this list.

Tomorrow I'll post the list of things we need to pray for...

I want to pray for you.

Do you have space?

It sounds like a simple question, but the answer is very important.

This post by Brad started a line of thought in my head about it. (If you're tempted to not read Brads post stop right here. Don't go on until you've read it!) Where is the space in my life? How is that affecting everything I do and everyone I interact with?

It's that space that says, "I need drums and guitars to worship."

It's that space that says, "I can only worship in quiet and solitude."

It's that space that says, "I don't like it when you challenge me."

It's that space that says, "If it doesn't look/sound/feel like I think it should it's not really worship."

It's that space that says, "I can read a few blog posts and watch a few videos and know another persons heart."

It's that space that keeps us from being honest with other people.

And most importantly, it's that space that keeps us from being honest with God. Even though he knows exactly how we feel and what we're thinking the space makes us think we can get away with it. The Bible (Jeremiah 17:9-10) is clear that it's difficult for us to have a clue about or own motives and desires.

I know I have that space. I know that I am disobedient. I know that my life doesn't look like it would if God REALLY owned all of it.

I want that to change. Do You?

Change isn't going comfortable or easy though. As I get closer to who God wants me to be the things that are in that space are going to get squished out. Disobedience and God cannot occupy the same space, and I want God to win that one!

So you pray for me as I squish the space and let God really own me and I want to pray for you. 

Post in the comments the thing I can pray for you and everyday this week I will pray for that. 

God wants all of us and I want to help you... 

Something New

Hey all, so I have an idea for something new for us. I know that there are several of us here at FBC who take photos, I also know that there are several who take really good photos! 

I've been trying for a while to come up with a way to access and outlet all of the creative photogs that are running around this place, then Carlos started something at his church in Atlanta and I thought, "Maybe we could try it here."

So here's the scoop. Let's call this the official start of the discussion about the Pocatello Photography Project.

Sketchy details...

• Open to anybody
  
• We would have a different project three or four times a year (relationships, power, moments, etc.)
  
• We would take photos that center around the project theme
  
• Photos would then be submitted and chosen for display and other creative uses
  
• We would build community together by meeting at the beginning of each project
  

It's just the start of the idea. 

What do you think?

I've already been approached by one local artist (who goes to church @ FBC) about using his work in our worship services.

The creative opportunities are nearly endless.

This is something we are going to do... but I want your input as we start.

Let me know what you think and if you want to be involved.

Technologicality or something like it...

When it comes to culturally relevant technology there are no shortage of options. Ipod, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and many more. The big question is how can the church use them to be more effective? Perry Noble said this,"What we allow to distract us can often be the very thing that eventually destroys us!" The funny thing is that he said on Twitter. Which can be distracting...

I've been mulling over ways that I can use these technologies to spread the Gospel of Jesus. I have some ideas but I don;t know if they will work. I recently had a conversation with some pastors about Twitter and how I use it. They had some good questions but the one that kept coming up was basically "why do I care if Perry Noble likes ice cream?" 

See, their idea of how Twitter is used leads them to a particular place of thought. Now I happen to know that Perry does indeed like ice cream, but that's not the main way he uses Twitter. Through his blog, and his twitter, the people in the church he pastors as well as others around the world get a better picture of who Perry is. That's what we've been trying to do with the staff blogs here. We use them as a way to communicate, encourage, and be known to all of you!

I want to see some of these work but only if they make sense...

More of us blogging and connecting to each others online life

Twitter as a communication tool for teams

TokBox as a way to do small groups, and training

Some others that I don;t have figured out yet...

I want them to be used technologically. They need to make sense for us. 

What say you?

Does any of this make you excited to try it?

I'm serious about this.

Let me know

I'm Broken

I'm broken. I know that you don't hear that kind of thing very often from people. It usually comes at the point of recognition of a major problem. Addiction, financial ruin, etc. But here's the deal My major problem is me. I'll admit it, though it's only recently that I would. I am my biggest problem. 

I find myself doing and saying things that I will tell myself i didn't mean, but, when it comes down to it, if I didn't mean it I wouldn't have said it. See, that's the issue. I doesn't matter what I want because what I do shows who I really am. And I can't change that! Sure, I can alter behavior patterns for a little while, but I've never seen lasting change come from myself. 

Maybe you see this too. It could just be me, but I don't think so. The truth is that I can't change me. I just can't. Maybe some of you have been able to, but I can't. That's why I am so utterly and desperately thankful for Jesus. Because of his sacrifice, I can be changed. 

Things I have struggled with don't tempt me anymore. They don't have a foothold in my life. Not because I wanted to stop doing them, because I did, but because my life has been and is being transformed by Jesus. I'm not perfect. Never will be. However, as I let go of trying to affect change in my own life and let Jesus create change in me I see the way I act, think, feel, speak, all of these get better and better. 

If you already know Jesus, do you see that transformation in your life, or not? Take a good look. 

If you don't follow Jesus yet, come check him out. Easter is a great time to do it. 

Sat. 11th @ 5 & 7 p.m. and Sun. 12th @ 9 & 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church, 408 N. Arthur, Pocatello. 

Transformation is possible. Jesus wants to create it in you. 

Worship Workshop is Here

Last week I told about a workshop we had coming. Well it's here! WE are a go!

Carl Albrecht, Leann Albrecht and Ed Kerr will be with us in southern Idaho for a day and a half of worship and teaching. It is going to be awesome! For all of the info go check out the site and register!

Here are some highlights though....

• $45 per person - You can't beat that!
  
• Friday night and Saturday - Use what you learned that weekend!
  
• Beautiful Burley Idaho - My home town!
  
• The King Fine Arts Center - Wait till you see it!
  

Number one though.....

wait for it....

It's the best...

Our KING, REDEEMER and GOD will be there! Worship is going to happen!

I hope to see you there.

It's hard to blog when you don't have a computer!

If you can't figure out why it's been so long since my last post you should read the last post. I've been bouncing around from computer to computer and space to space the last few weeks. Good news though, the office space is almost finished. I get my cube back but new and improved! The insurance is going to cover the replacement cost of my laptop and I was able to get most of the data that I needed off of it!

Here is my conundrum though... I haven't really decided what kind of computer I should get so... if you have any recommends let me know...

Hopefully I can get something quickly and then I can get back to regular work. We have some big things coming and it would sure be nice to have a computer to work on them!

Let me know what you think in the comments or take the poll.

Hope.

We've heard alot of talk about hope this last year. We were told to hope for change, hope for the best, hope that tommorow will be better. But lets face it. Sometimes we don't really "hope"

Many times we treat hope just like wish. I wish things would change, I wish things were better. They sound kind of the same.

Here's how dictionary.com defines hope: v. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.

As followers of Jesus we have much to hope for. This is way more than a wish. We should have hope that He:

• will return
• rescue us from our sins
• provide for us
• guide us
• comfort us
• prepare a place in His Kingdom for us
• call us to great things
• restore us to Himself

But what makes me do this job more and more is the knowledge that here in our valley there are literally thousands of people who will go to sleep tonight without that hope! That messes with me. The closer I get to Jesus (and I've got a long way to go) the more I hope to have the chance to shout hope to all of them. That's why we do what we do on Sunday. WE shout hope, the hope that only Jesus can bring. I want to shout it louder and to more people than ever.

So my question to you is this. Does it bother you that there are people in our community without hope? Does it bother you that there are people in your life without hope? It bothers me and I am trying to do what I can to let them know that there is hope! Wanna Play?

You Want In?

Whoa. It's been way too long since my last post.(bad blogger, bad blogger) Anyhoo, I took some time off and actually didn't touch my computer for FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT! It was awesome! I would recommend you try it some time. So I was trying to figure out what I should say since it's been so long. It can be tricky sometimes to come up with things to say.

However, after Bills message on Sunday I thought it might be a good idea to let you guys know about some volunteer opportunities that you might want to check out. Seriously, these are all things that make a huge difference in the life of our church and the lives of people who come to our weekend services. So if anything sparks some interest drop me a line! aaron@fbcpoky.com

• Sound Engineer - This is an on the job training kind of thing. If you'd like to check it out we can provide you with what you need. Janaye, who leads this area, is awesome (and not just 'cause she's my wife!)
• Multi-Media - These people take care of what you see on the Big Screen during the services. Seriously, if you can push a button you can do this!
• Video - I know we haven't had video announcements in a little while but if YOU helped out we could do it every week with no problem! Video is more than just announcements though. We've go big plans for this team and need people to write, produce, direct, edit, engineer and a bunch of other stuff.
• Musician - Instrumental or vocal. We would love to have you in our band! If you play or sing or play and sing let us know.
• Web - Oh the web! You may have noticed that from time to time our website is out of date. Does it drive you nuts? Do you want to do something about it?
• Design - If you have any graphic design experience you might not know that you can use it to let people know about Jesus. We need designers to build thing for promotions, invites, and many other projects.
• Communications - There are a lot of things that we want to do with our Communications here and we need you to step up and help make them better. There are some great things coming but they will only work with your help.

All right, I sure hope that you was something that you might want to check out. Here's the deal, I promise that you won't get stuck in something and never be able to get out of it. Give us a test drive. Experience something new. Let me know (aaron@fbcpoky.com) if you want to get in the game!

Now there are many other things that you can do here at FBC, but... these are a lot of fun! (I'm just kidding, other things are fun to)

So whatever you end up doing, do SOMETHING!

Goin' Out

One of the cool things that I get to do in this job is to help other churches get better at what they are doing. It is actually one of the things I am most passionate about. Karl and I get to go to New Plymouth, Idaho (just this side of Oregon) tomorrow to help them with some sound and band needs. It's going to be awesome. When we do this we don't charge the churches anything, in fact, when we can we cover all of the expense for the trip we do. Because of your faithful giving we are able to extend what we have to other followers of Christ in the area and in the Northwest. I am really looking forward to this trip and hope that God will use the time to do some cool things. Feel free to pray for Karl and I as we drive and pray for First Baptist of New Plymouth!